Post from Lynne Murphy, Facebook

I hope that this post does not start one of those discussions that reduce the message to another
party bashing rant. I am not posting this with the intention of entering into one of those Greens vs
Labor waste of time slanging matches. I hope that you can read the post with a view to
recognising that finally Labor is becoming more humane and changing the debate. My political
stance is not towards any party. My main concern is that the LNP has got to go. They are
becoming more cruel with each passing day.
Labor has begun to change the dialogue on refugees, a most welcome change. The policy drawn
up at the Labor National Conference is a carefully balanced manoeuvre between a humane
approach to local and international refugee needs and Labor's need to not alienate itself from
voters swayed by hateful right wing propaganda about asylum seekers.

The following text is Tanya Plibersek's reply to a letter from Shayne Chester. Chester (thanks for
sharing).
Dear Shayne,
Thank you for contacting me about asylum-seeker policy. I note that you wrote to me before
Labors National Conference, I hope that you have now had a chance to look at the policy we
adopted at the conference. It sets out a new policy framework for Labor, including the
commitment that by 2025 Australia will have the highest per capita intake of refugees in the
world, and the second largest annual intake overall behind the United States.
As the daughter of migrants who came to Australia after the end of WWII, and as the mother of
three children, I am and will always remain a strong advocate for the humane treatment of
asylum seekers.
Migration has made this country great. We should never forget the debt we owe to generations of
migrants and refugees who, in seeking a better life, have made Australia a better place for all of
us.
Ever since the Tampa election of 2001, domestic politics around asylum seeker policies has
been nothing less than toxic. The debate has lost rationality, compassion and respect. I firmly
believe Labor is the only party that can re-set this debate, change the conversation, and
permanently end the divisive politics regarding asylum seeker policy in this country.
At the end of WWII there were between 20-30 million refugees displaced by the war. Today there
is an estimated 59.5 million individuals forcibly displaced around the globe as a result of
persecution, conflict, violence and human rights violations.
My view is that as a wealthy nation Australia has a moral obligation to do more to address this
global humanitarian crisis. We must accept significantly more refugees to our country and we
must treat those refugees more humanely. I have been calling for an increase to our refugee
intake since the Abbott government cut the number from 20,000 a year under Labor, to 13,750.
We want to bring more refugees to Australia, and we want them to get here safely.
Australia played a critical role in the establishment of the United Nations in 1945 because we

believed then that we have responsibilities as a good global citizen.

The Abbott government has cut $11.3 billion from our aid budget. That makes it much more
difficult for Australian aid to help desperate people in their home countries, or in countries of first
asylum.
We should be doing much more to support bodies like the Office of the United Nations High
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), which is struggling to care for an unprecedented number
of refugees.
Australia must also support and seek always to operate in accordance with international human
rights law.
Labors new policy regarding refugees and asylum seekers commits absolutely to such a
framework. It massively increases Australias contributions to the UNHCR, it prioritises the UN
Refugee Convention and restores references to the Convention in our domestic law, and most
importantly it doubles Australias humanitarian refugee intake to 27,000 a year.
As I said above, under Labors policy, by 2025 Australia will have the highest per capita intake of
refugees in the world, and the second largest annual intake overall behind the United States.
In relation to support for the UNHCR, Labors policy provides $450 million over three years. This
will make Australia the fifth largest donor globally to the international body, and provide an
enormous boost to an agency whose entire regional budget is currently only $560 million a year.
At the moment we give just $21 million per annum to the UNHCR.
As part of this contribution, a Shorten Labor Government will take a leadership role within South
East Asia and the Pacific to build a regional humanitarian framework for asylum seekers. This will
include supporting the UNHCR in providing health and education services to asylum seekers and
advocating for work rights for asylum seekers.
We will abolish Temporary Protection Visas which currently keep people in a permanent state of
limbo, and give those found to be genuine refugees a permanent Australian visa.
Labor will end the secrecy surrounding the treatment of asylum seekers in this country. We will
implement independent oversight of all Australian-funded processing facilities, both offshore and
onshore.
We will make sure that refugee claims are processed as quickly as possible, by restoring access
to the Refugee Review Tribunal, and re-instating the 90 day rule for reporting on the progress of
a refugees claim.
Most importantly, Labor will establish an independent children's advocate and will remove
children from detention as quickly as possible.
The childrens advocate will be an independent statutory position and a strong voice separate
from government, serving only the interests of children seeking asylum. Labor will legislate to
impose mandatory reporting of any child abuse in all facilities.
Labor will continue to ensure that those working in the immigration system enjoy the benefit of
whistle-blower protections so that they can safely speak out about abuse, maladministration and
corruption.
No one wants to see further deaths at sea, and the only way to truly prevent this is to provide for

quick, safe, processing of claims through the appropriate international bodies, at facilities across
the region and globe currently housing refugees. Labor will not rule out turn-backs as a final
resort, but our policy aims to positively address the need for refugees to get into boats in the first
place.
I have confidence that Labors position helps restore compassion and integrity to the debate
about asylum seeker policy in this country. It is now up to Tony Abbott and the Coalition to end
the politics of division and fear and commit to Australia doing our fair share to deal with what is
an unprecedented global humanitarian crisis.
If you are interested in any further detail of Labors policy, please go
to:http://www.alp.org.au/asylumseekers
For further reading, you may be interested in the Chief Executive of Save the Children Australia
Paul Ronalds opinion piece for The Australian:http://www.theaustralian.com.au//storye6frg6zo-1227460713
Thank you again for contacting me on this extremely important issue.
Best wishes,
Tanya